The titles keep coming for the Lebanon Pioneers cross-country team. On Thursday at Sugar Hollow Park, Lebanon took home the 17th annual Randy Smith Classic championship. The Pioneers, the defending Class 1 state champion, finished with a team score of 61 points to defeat defending Class 3 state champion Abingdon, who totaled 68 points.
“It was a big invitational with many schools,” Lebanon coach Travis Hooker said. “When the season began, our goal was to win the Smith Classic. Abingdon has won a lot of championships in outdoor track, indoor track, and cross country, and we have a lot of respect for their coaches and athletes. But we banded together, it was a team effort. Every spot we needed something, we got it accomplished.”
Abingdon senior Rives Boltwood won the individual title with a time of 15.23, and junior Gregory Poisson finished second in 15:35 for the Falcons. So it took a solid effort by the Pioneers to come out on top.
“Abingdon got first and second, but Derek [Mitchell] came up big at third,” commented Hooker. “We’re three strong at the top, with Alec Deckard and Eli Taylor finishing seventh and eighth. Carter Dillon was huge with a big PR, and Blake Chafin had a big day. I think we surprised everyone, people are taking notice.”
In the girl’s race, led by junior Josie Jackson, Abingdon won the team title with a score of 37 to defeat Cave Spring. Jackson took the individual crown in a time of 18:58.
Locally, Council’s Ella Rasnake finished 13th with a time of 21:22.
The Southwest District meet will be held on October 25th, and the Region 2D meet on November 1st at Sugar Hollow.
“The postseason is huge in cross country,” Hooker said. “It’s all that matters. We’re trending in the right direction. We want to continue on the path we’re on. Our goal is to win district, region, and state, and we’ve given ourselves the opportunity to do that.”